Game Time! 3 Quick & Healthy Snack Hacks for A Winning Season, Plus Recipes!

Let’s face it, for the next several months we will have ample opportunities to stuff our faces with high-calorie, nutrient-deficient snacks as the NFL, NHL, and NBA seasons take off.

Your favorite team can raise your blood pressure enough, without the aid of salty or fatty foods.

Here are some quick, simple ideas and recipes to make game-time snacking more mindful and healthier to help you avoid unwanted weight gain during the (hopefully winning) season.

• Avoid high-calorie, high-sodium chips: Opt for homemade kale chips or zucchini chips, or purchase baked corn tortilla chips with only these ingredients: corn, oil, sea salt, and lime (my favorite brand is La Favorita).
• Incorporate veggies: Rather than fill up on empty calories like pork rinds and pretzels, add some healthy fats and veggies to the table. Avocado offers the perfect base for dips that truly satisfy. Don’t forget to make it colorful. Red, orange, yellow, and green peppers, carrots, broccoli, pea pods, radishes, and even raw beets pair fabulously with my Easy Guacamole (recipe below) to provide a filling, nutrient-rich alternative for snacking.
• Switch up your sweets: Think berries and dark chocolate. When it comes to satisfying your sweet tooth, you can attain guiltless satisfaction and a boost of powerful antioxidants at the same time. It’s a win-win. Melt a little dark chocolate for dipping strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries, and you’ve created a delicious alternative to a sugary dessert. (Remember to choose dark chocolate with cocoa content of 70% or more for maximum benefits and lower carbs and calories.)

Easy Guacamole

1 ripe avocado, peeled and pitted	Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Optional: Pinch of fresh lime juice	1 Tablespoon of fresh cilantro leaves

1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl.
2. Mash together using a fork.

Quick Bite-sized Snacks

Boats:

3 Stalks Celery, cut into 2-3 inch pieces	¼ cup Pine Nuts
2 red bell peppers, cut into quarters	1 Fresh Tomato, chopped
2 Zucchinis cut in half with center scooped out	Fresh basil, chopped
1 container Olive Hummus

1. Fill the vegetable “boats” with hummus.
2. Top with pine nuts, fresh tomato, and basil.

Stacks:

1-2 Cucumbers, sliced into rounds	Fresh Basil, chopped
1 Roma tomato, sliced into rounds	sea salt
1 Avocado, mashed	black pepper

1. Season the mashed avocado with salt and pepper.
2. Spread 1 tsp. avocado on 1 cucumber slice.
3. Top with fresh basil and 1 Roma tomato slice.
4. If you can tolerate dairy, fresh mozzarella or drunken goat cheese would be a great addition!

I’ll have more healthy tips and recipes as the holidays roll around to ease anxiety and keep you right on track with your health and fitness goals!